Wycombe fighter takes national belt

The High Wycombe cage fighter is recharging his batteries in Egypt after over-powering Kes Mamba on Saturday night to become the British TKMMA Champion.

Fighting in front of 500 baying fans and Handy Cross Sports Centre, he dominated the first two rounds before claiming a technical knock-out midway through the third to make it seven wins out of seven in the cage.

He said: “Kes was very strong on the ground, but I had been practicing my ju jitsu a lot more.

“I also had boxers brought in for stand up as well as having Corey Cain helping me with my kick boxing.

“I was only worried about my stamina because after round one I’m normally knackered.”

Preparation again proved key though.

He said: “I worked on my stamina before the fight and was eating right. I felt calm after round one and great after round two.

“I felt like I could do another two or three rounds and at the end I still felt fit and strong.

“I could have stood up or gone to the floor, it made no difference.”

Holland’s win brought the curtain down on Wycombe’s first fight night extravaganza.

His was the last of 11 bouts with Mike Maroudas, left, providing one of the night’s earlier highlights with a devastating knock-out punch that floored Jonny Baynham.

Maroudas, also from Wycombe, said: “I could tell he was tiring so I thought I could take a few more risks. I came in for the jab and saw his hands were down, so I thought that was my chance.

“You throw every punch with intent and fortunately that one was right on the money.

“I had my whole family there watching too so it was important to get the right result.”

Maroudas’ victory means the next time he steps in the cage, in March, it will be for the TKMMA British Featherweight title.

Other big winners on the night included Trevor Hopkins, who beat Karl Knight with a superb guillotine choke, and Gilbert Woods, who turned Steve Lambert’s lights out with one kick.